Contents

At the age of 17, Blige recorded a cover version of Anita Baker's "Caught Up in the Rapture" in a recording booth at a local mall. Her mother's boyfriend at the time later played the cassette to recording artist and A&R runner for Uptown Records, Jeff Redd.[3] Redd then sent it to the president and chief executive officer of the label, Andre Harrell. Blige met with Harrell in 1990 and performed the song for him.[4][5] She was signed to Uptown and became the label's youngest and third female recording artist (after Finesse N' Synquis).[6]

After being signed to Uptown Records, Blige began working with record producer Puff Daddy.[5] He became the executive producer and produced a majority of the album.[7] The title, What's the 411?, derived from Blige's past occupation as a 4-1-1 operator;[8] it was also an indication by Blige of being the "real deal".[9] The album contains elements of hip hop soul and new jack swing,[10][11] The music was described as "revelatory on a frequent basis".[10] Blige was noted for having a "tough girl persona and streetwise lyrics", which gave the album "a gritty undertone and a realism missing from much of the devotional love songs ruling the charts at that time".[12] Havelock Nelson of Entertainment Weekly expressed that Blige "bends her gospel-bred pipes around streetwise collages consisting of hard drumbeats, rugged rap samples, and hazy synthesizer lines", describing déjà vu of "the most accomplished fusions of soul values and hip-hop to date".[13]

What's the 411? received generally favorable reviews from music critics. Blige received comparisons to recording artists Chaka Khan, Caron Wheeler and Anita Baker.[10][13] Her voice was described as "powerful" and "soulful". David O'Donnell of BBC Music complimented Blige's "sweet, soulful vocals", in line with Puff Daddy's "rough, jagged, hip-hop beats made for a winning combination that remains".[16] The album led to Blige being dubbed as the reigning "Queen of Hip Hop Soul".[10] Stanton Swihart of Allmusic called the album "the decade's most explosive, coming-out displays of pure singing prowess".[10] O'Donnell argued that the album is "one of the most important albums of the nineties".[16] The album earned Blige two Soul Train Music Awards in 1993: Best New R&B Artist and Best R&B Album, Female.[19]

Blige's combination of vocals over a hip hop beat became influential in R&B.[25] She has been credited for creating the hybrid genre hip hop soul, as well as pioneering what became neo soul.[10][12] Along with Puff Daddy, Blige attributed to the "sample-heavy sound that reinvigorated urban radio", which became "a blueprint for nineties hip-hop and R&B".[26]